High school is a pivotal time in a young person’s life. High schoolers are hovering between childhood and adulthood, preparing to launch from their parents’ home into the future God has for them. As homeschool parents, our job is not simply to educate our high schoolers and fulfill graduation requirements, nor is it only to set them up to get into college or the career they desire.
Our task as high school homeschool parents is much greater than this. We have the privilege of partnering with the Lord to develop teens into the men and women God has created them to be, men and women who stand firm on the Word of God, who flourish in all areas of life, who love God and others with the love of Christ, and who allow God to use them as His vessels wherever they go. By seeking to accomplish these things, we can give homeschool high schoolers an EPIC high school experience.
Equip
We live in a world full of noise—news, social media, books, movies, music, friends. Teens are inundated with voices, most of which do not align with God’s Word. These voices only get louder as teens leave their parents’ homes and venture into the college world of academia or the workforce.
Critical thinking is a skill that is severely lacking in our current culture, but it is a critical skill for men and women of God to have! Teens need to have a firm grasp on God’s Word, an understanding of logic and the elements of argument, and the ability to grasp nuance. They must be equipped to evaluate different perspectives with compassion and humility without being taken captive by human philosophy and empty deceit (see Colossians 2:8).
To develop homeschool high schoolers into the men and women God has created them to be, we need to equip high schoolers to think critically and compassionately through the lens of a biblical worldview.
Prepare
When 17- and 18-year-olds graduate high school, they stand on the brink of a wide open world full of possibilities for their future. It’s easy as homeschool parents to get sucked into focusing only on the academic side of their education, thinking of their intended career path or the requirements for the colleges of their choice.
The reality is that life is about so much more than this. They need preparation to be good neighbors, citizens, church members, spouses, parents, friends, community members. Jesus tells us that He came to offer us abundant life that starts now (see John 10:10). He intends for us to bear fruit, experience joy, and be a blessing to others. That’s what we want to prepare high schoolers to do—flourish in all areas of life so that their lives are a witness of God’s goodness.
To develop homeschool high schoolers into the men and women God created them to be, we need to prepare them to flourish in all areas of life, whether they are college or career bound.
Inspire
Jesus says that the first and greatest commandment is to love God above all else with everything in us, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. While we have no power to transform the hearts of our high schoolers, we want to inspire them to love God. We can do this by rooting them in His Word, by helping them know who He is, by teaching them to see His handiwork and goodness throughout all subjects and aspects of life.
We also want them to love others, to learn to follow in the footsteps of Jesus by humbly putting others before themselves as servant leaders. We want to teach them to see others through God’s eyes—as image bearers created and loved by God.
To develop high school homeschoolers into the men and women God created them to be, we must inspire them to love God and people passionately and sacrificially.
Challenge
Every homeschool high schooler is uniquely created by God for a purpose. He has wired them with a unique personality. He has given them a unique set of gifts, abilities, and passions. He has uniquely shaped them through their experiences and family life. And He has a purpose in all of this, a purpose that can magnify His glory and bring good to others.
These teens have and will have many spheres of influence throughout their life—their friends, coworkers, family, neighbors, community, church, and beyond. God has purpose for them in each of those places and opportunities for them to exercise their gifts and voice.
To develop high school homeschoolers into the men and women God created them to be, we must challenge them to express their God-given gifts and voice for God’s glory and others’ good in every sphere of influence.
Feel overwhelmed? That’s the task set before parents of high school homeschoolers. It’s a monumental task—too big to complete alone.
The good news is that you don’t have to do it alone. Our high school program is designed to come alongside parents as they undertake this daunting task of partnering with the Lord in developing their high schoolers into the men and women God created them to be.
We are a community growing together into the realities of raising rising adults. Join our co-op where you can be equipped, empowered, and engaged in this monumental task.
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